OAKLAND – Although the debate on Measure Y divided neighbors and polarized the city, the initiative passed with almost 70 percent of the vote, more than the two-thirds required, according to unofficial election results.

Supporters said Wednesday that Measure Y’s approach – hiring 63 more police officers and strengthening the Fire Department while expanding social programs designed to give youth and parolees other choices besides crime – packed a winning formula.

“The voters saw that it was a well-balanced measure and got the message that it would be effective and the money would be spent wisely,” said City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (Glenview-Fruitvale), one of the measure’s authors. “We need 150 officers, but 63 is better than zero.”

After the city failed twice – first in 2000 and again in March – to convince voters to raise taxes to hire more police officers, all but one council member backed Measure Y, putting aside their own agendas and political rivalries.

“I’m thrilled,” said Councilmember Nancy Nadel (Downtown-West Oakland), who dropped her plea for more money primarily for social programs and worked hand in hand with De La Fuente – whom she may oppose in the 2006 race to succeed Mayor Jerry Brown – to convince people to vote for Measure Y.

Brown said approval of the initiative is good for Oakland and will help attract a new police chief after Richard Word leaves later this month to take the top law enforcement job in Vacaville.

The council will form a committee immediately to oversee implementation of the measure and spending of the nearly $20 million a year Measure Y is expected to raise, De La Fuente said.

Beginning in 2005, single-family homeowners will pay $88 a year in additional parcel taxes, apartment owners $60 per unit and commercial property owners $45 for each space equivalent to a residence. In addition, the parking tax would jump to 18.5 percent.

The additional officers will be used to restart Oakland’s aborted community policing system by assigning one officer to each neighborhood beat and adding a crime-reduction team to focus on crime hot spots.

The Police Department has already begun recruiting to fill the new positions, said Sgt. Jon Madarang, commander of the recruiting unit. More than 1,000 men and women have expressed interest in becoming Oakland police officers, plus several dozen now employed by other law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area, he added.

Although the department’s authorized strength is now 739 officers, nearly 60 officers are on disability leave. Dozens more are expected to retire in the coming year to take advantage of increased retirement benefits.

The new revenue must be used to increase the size of the force to 802 officers. If the department falls short of that, the tax may not be collected.

In addition, Measure Y will allow the city to expand the Oakland Fire Department and stop “flexible deployment,” which shutters one fire station for three days at a time to save manpower and money.

Oaklanders will be safer with an additional two fire engines and eight firefighters on duty every day, said Fire Capt. Bruce Nielsen, a member of International Association of Firefighters Local 55.

The new social programs will be geared to steer youths away from drugs, gangs and crime and help recent prison parolees find decent-paying jobs. The council also plans to fund programs to reduce domestic violence and truancy, officials said.

“It is now our job to make sure the money is spent wisely,” De La Fuente said, adding the new programs will be evaluated on their results and held to strict standards.

Steve Edrington, a leading opponent of Measure Y, said he will watch very carefully to ensure the council lives up to its promises.

“We’ll hold their feet to the fire,” Edrington said. “We still need more police officers, and there are far too many social programs that don’t work.”

On the other side of the political spectrum, former Councilmember Wilson Riles Jr. said passage of Measure Y will do nothing to end the public’s distrust of the Oakland Police Department and its dysfunction.

Riles’ group, through a series of protests and rallies, contended more police officers would not make Oakland safer and pointed to the alleged misconduct highlighted by the retrial of three ex-cops known as the “Riders” charged with abusing suspects and planting evidence.

“It won’t change the facts on the ground,” Riles said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

Results of the election are expected to be certified by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters on Nov. 30.

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